Bleien Radio Observatory

Tucked into a shallow, radio-quiet valley in Switzerland's Canton of Aargau, Bleien Radio Observatory listens to the sky at wavelengths the eye can't see, run by ETH Zurich since the late 1970s.

About Bleien Radio Observatory

Bleien Radio Observatory is a radio astronomy station located roughly halfway between Zürich and Bern, near the village of Bleien, about 5 km south of Gränichen. It specialises in large-bandwidth radio spectroscopy, and its valley setting was chosen because it is relatively well shielded from terrestrial radio interference.

History

The observatory was established in 1979 by ETH Zurich's radio astronomy research group and sits at an elevation of about 469 metres.

Telescopes & research

Bleien operates radio dishes used for solar and cosmological spectroscopy, including long-running monitoring of the Sun's radio emission. Its quiet setting makes it suitable for sensitive spectrometer work that would be swamped by interference near a city.

Location & getting there

The site lies at about 469 m elevation in a shallow valley in the Canton of Aargau, roughly halfway between Zürich and Bern, near Gränichen and the small village of Bleien.

Visiting Bleien Radio Observatory

Bleien is an active ETH Zurich research station rather than a public attraction, and there is no published visitor schedule. If you're interested in seeing it, contact ETH Zurich's cosmology or radio astronomy group directly before planning a trip.

See your named star from here

Bleien's dishes are tuned to radio wavelengths rather than visible light, so it isn't the place to look through an eyepiece at your named star. Instead, take the coordinates from your catalogue entry to an optical observatory in our directory, or start the process by naming a star first.